The Champion
by Eraleigh Aminah
Summary: SPOILERS FOR BOOK 5! Bracken returns to Fablehaven to help Seth on his quest to get what the Singing Sisters need. Kendra, Vanessa, and Warren come with them as they travel across Europe on an insane journey. And they don't have much time... T for safety


Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters or Fablehaven. All credit goes to Brandon Mull for writing a fantastic series.

A/N---This was co-written with my sister, Sierra. Kudos to her for coming up with the idea!

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It had started out as a relatively normal day, as most of her days usually did. Kendra walked down the halls of Manchester High, the closest public high school they had found to Fablehaven. The whole home schooling thing hadn't worked out so great. Quite honestly, her parents and grandparents didn't know the first thing about teaching. But she had adjusted well, or as well as she could. Kendra had managed to make a few friends, and Diane and Meaghan were walking with her to their Physics class.

"Kendra, what do you think you got on that Trig test? I totally bombed it." Meaghan's bubbly voice intercepted her brooding thoughts.

"Oh...uh, not too bad, I hope. I actually studied for that one." She hoped her tone didn't give away the fact that Kendra felt confident she had actually gotten an A on that test. She had spent the better part of her freshman year out of school, "dead". Coming back hadn't been too easy, and Kendra had been frustrated when she realized how behind she was. Unlike her lazy brother, though, she had worked hard and was completely caught up and ahead by now.

Diane laughed. "You study for, like, _every _test." Kendra shrugged, comfortable enough with her friends now that their teasing didn't bother her. She had become much less awkward with people after defeating Gorgrog, the demon king. Something about slaying powerful enemies boosted her confidence.

"My grades are important to me," Kendra said quietly as they sat down at their desks. Mr. Rodriguez, the Physics teacher, was generally tolerant of talking, but she didn't want to push it, considering they were a little late walking in. Fortunately, Kendra and her friends were among his favorite students. That basically ensured that they could get away with anything. Not that Kendra would try.

Physics class passed in a blur and she was soon in her foreign language class, French. She had elected to try learning different languages because it could come in handy when they traveled around they world. French was the one she had worked the most on (she was almost fluent), but she had also learned a considerable amount of Spanish and Chinese and even a bit of Portuguese and German. She had only touched the basics in the last two, but she was farther ahead than Seth, who was struggling to learn even some simple Spanish sayings.

But, to be fair, Seth had been concentrating on other things. Her pig-headed brother was getting lessons from the Sphinx. It was a while before both sets of her grandparents and her actual parents had allowed it, taking everything that had happened into account, but Seth had finally convinced them that he needed the training. So far, the Sphinx had done nothing to prove him wrong. He visited twice a week (at late hours) and would take Seth either into the backyard or, with Grandpa Sorenson always close, into the dungeon. Kendra wasn't exactly sure what he had learned, but she knew it involved things like quenching fire, cooling the temperature, and commanding actual shadows. It made her improvement in languages seem weak.

But still, Kendra took pride in the fact that she was advancing in something. Eventually, maybe in a couple years, she would be able to communicate with many of the world's people. She thought that it would be really cool if she was able to, and maybe helpful as well. She wanted to travel around the world. That's why she worked especially hard in French class.

The only problem was that the largest amount of her friends were in this class. Diane was, and although Meaghan didn't take a language, Kendra had other companions—Paige, Jeremy, and Anthony— that were in this class. The four of them usually managed to sidetrack Kendra.

Most of the time, it was Paige's fault. She had incessantly been trying to persuade Kendra to go out with Jeremy. He was widely considered one of the most attractive guys at Manchester High, and he was really sweet too. In Paige's words, they were "totally perfect for each other". Paige said that he genuinely liked her, and that it would be really cute if they went out. "After all, you're both gorgeous," she reminded Kendra all the time, usually making her blush. Kendra didn't tell her that she was waiting for someone much more gorgeous to visit Fablehaven.

When the bell rang dismissing them from a tiring lesson about conjugating the different forms of "vouloir", the French verb meaning "to want", Kendra and her friends walked out of the classroom, eagerly chatting about the oncoming weekend.

Kendra strode down the sidewalks leading away from Manchester with Paige and Jeremy on either side of her. She soon heard the looming roar of a motorcycle engine. Turning toward the approaching vehicle, she saw an attractive guy with silver hair heading in her direction.

"Kendra, do you know him? He's kind of looking at you..." Paige pointed out.

"Uh, yeah, he's a family friend." Her mind had immediately strayed away from school and her friends and towards the motorcycle rider dressed in jeans and a leather jacket.

"Kendra?" Bracken implored anxiously. "We've got a situation. Hop on." Kendra turned to say a quick good-bye to her bewildered friends and grabbed the helmet Bracken had held out to her.

In an instant, Kendra and Bracken were speeding off away from Manchester. "Bracken, what's going on?" She hugged her arms around his well built torso as they sped almost dangerously through traffic. It was partially out of a sense of fear from never riding on a motorcycle, but mostly bloomed from a desire to be close to Bracken.

He answered practically shouting over the roar of the wind rushing by, "Well, this is really the only time I have, and we wanted to take full advantage of it. We're going to visit the Singing Sisters either tomorrow or the day after. We need to make plans. Warren's picking up Seth as we speak." Kendra nodded before she realized that Bracken had to keep his eyes on the road. Where had he even learned to drive anyway?

"Um, alright," she answered, hoping she didn't sound as out of place as she felt. Bracken's appearance felt very sudden to her, but most things were when you were dealing with the magical world. Kendra had become more accustomed to the unpredictable changes her life took.

The motorcycle sped down the streets so quickly that Kendra felt she would never take the bus again. It was about three times slower than the thrilling ride she was on. But still, the biggest plus was the unicorn she had her arms around. Otherwise, Kendra probably couldn't have ridden on something that she had formerly dubbed as a death trap. It really didn't help that Bracken probably couldn't even legally drive the vehicle.

Before she knew it they had pulled into Fablehaven's long driveway. Bracken slowed down considerably, so now she could actually hear him over the engine without feeling a need to yell or ask him to repeat what he said several times. The house came into sight before she had a chance to ask anymore questions, and Bracken stopped and parked the motorcycle outside of the garage, in between Warren's Jeep and Vanessa's immaculate Corvette.

They both stepped off the motorcycle and put the helmets away. Bracken grinned at her, and Kendra felt her heart skip a beat. He engulfed her in a big hug, and they stood together like that for a few moments before separating. "I missed you," Bracken said.

"Yeah, well, I guess I might have missed you too. You know, just a tiny bit." Kendra's smile widened before she focused again. "We should probably get going. Seth and Warren are already here; that's his car. Don't want to miss the meeting." The walked inside together, holding hands (much to Kendra's contentment).

"As if they would start without us," Bracken muttered to her. "I mean, I'm the one who's helping Seth with his deal with the Sisters."

"You just had to point out that you're much less selfish than the rest of us, didn't you?" Kendra asked.

"Just cooler is more like it."

"Oh yes, I'm sure that's it."

Bracken chuckled. "Where are they, anyways? I haven't exactly been here before, so..." Kendra colored slightly, embarrassed. Of course he wouldn't know where to go. She was so used to Bracken's seemingly endless supply of answers and wisdom that sometimes she forgot he didn't know everything. Leaders had that quality to them; the one that showed they always had a plan and were always in control.

"They're probably in Grandpa Sorenson's study," Kendra replied, bringing him to the door and leading him in where, of course, the entire family was waiting. Plus the usuals, meaning Warren, Dale, Tanu and Vanessa. It seemed as if they had, indeed, been waiting for Kendra and Bracken before saying anything. When they came in, Grandpa Sorenson immediately began speaking, not even giving them a chance to even greet the others.

"Alright, you're here. As you all know, Seth has to return to the Singing Sisters. He needs to bring a wraith and Vasilis, and using his sword, he will retrieve anything they ask him to. Knowing the Singing Sisters, this item will probably be very dangerous to acquire and will only have been mentioned in legends. We need to put together a team to help Seth out. Bracken has already volunteered."

"I'll go," Warren bid. "If Seth ends up having to travel a lot, I know where close to every preserve is and I know most of the people there. I would normally say that I could also protect Seth or Kendra, if she goes, but I think they'll be alright. Honestly, I really just need to get away from here. You're all great, but there's only so much of you one guy can handle."

"We should probably have two or three more people go," Grandma Larsen said. "Kendra, I can tell you want to go as well. Why don't you?"

Kendra looked at her in shock. She _did_ want to go, but Bracken could do everything she could, so she wasn't particularly needed. Her parents wouldn't have really known what to do, and her Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson were usually too worried about their safety. But her other grandparents, the Larsens, were more laid-back. They believed that Kendra and Seth should have more freedom to decide what they wanted to do. After all, they had battled the demon horde without the help of their family. What did that say about their capability?

"I'm too old to go anyways, otherwise I would have volunteered myself," Grandma Larsen commented.

Grandpa Sorenson looked stunned. "Now wait just a minute, Gloria. Kendra shouldn't go. It could very well be extremely dangerous, and we don't particularly need her abilities! I say we'll be fine without putting her in danger." Kendra hated this. She hated how everyone tried to decide what to do with her life. Hadn't she proved time and time again that she could take care of herself? She had killed Gorgrog! But her family never saw that. They thought she still needed to be protected like a little girl.

"I'm going," Kendra said, more forcefully than she had intended to. Everyone looked at her, surprised. Kendra bit her bottom lip, but continued on. "I mean, I can take care of myself. It's not that big of a deal. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Bracken and Warren are going, and I don't think they would let anything bad happen to either me or Seth."

"We wouldn't," Bracken verified. Vanessa rolled her eyes. She still didn't like him. However, they could tolerate each other now, which everyone considered an improvement over their former behavior. "Besides, I could probably help Kendra with fairy languages, if we ever get a chance." Kendra glanced at him, slightly confused. Why would they waste time on the different fairy dialects? They had more important things to worry about than how Kendra was developing her fairykind abilities!

Vanessa glared at him and muttered under her breath, "I'm sure that's not the only thing you would like to help her with." Kendra and Bracken both blushed and dropped their hands, having heard what she said. Seth laughed at them, not bothering to hide the fact that he found them hilarious.

Apparently no one else had heard, except maybe Warren who looked suspiciously like he might be hiding a smile. Grandpa Larsen continued without showing any sign of hearing Vanessa's embarrassing remark.

"Well, Kendra, I think this would be a good opportunity for you. You've wanted to travel around the world, right? There's no time better than the present."

Vanessa interrupted. "Alright, well, if those four are going, they're going to need someone to keep them from getting sidetracked. Who do I think that person should be? Well, her name starts with a 'V' and her last name is Santoro." Her grandparents all exchanged looks. For some reason, the Sorenson side still had trouble believing she was their friend sometimes, and the Larsen side couldn't get over past animosity. Kendra often felt bad for her friend who had proved over and over again that she was their ally.

Finally it was her mother that spoke. "That sounds lovely, Vanessa." Marla turned to her parents and parents-in-law. "It sounds like a good team. Five young people, ready for an adventure. They can bring Mendigo along as an extra precaution. It sounds like we should start planning what to do about the Singing Sisters."

Seth sighed and spoke for the first time. "Hey Bracken, can you just, you know, come back in a month or so? I'm not quite ready to give up the sword yet, so..."

Everyone laughed, and Bracken shrugged. "Sorry, Seth, I don't have too much time. Maybe a couple weeks or so."

"Ugh, fine. Let's get packing then. Everyone, bring lots of sharp, pointy things! You never know what types of critters you might find in a swamp." Everyone rolled their eyes at Seth, who continued. "I'm serious, though. I promised to bring a wraith, and I'm guessing no one really wants one riding in a car with us. The only thing that makes sense is to find one when we get there. I bet the old guy in the cabin will help. I'm hoping for a big, mean one that'll annoy the Sisters more than it helps them."

The meeting didn't go on for much longer, and their plans didn't change all that much. Grandpa Larsen took the job of "escorting" them to the Singing Sisters. Kendra suspected that he didn't want them to be driven by Vanessa. Honestly, Kendra was happy with that. Her past experiences with the blix's driving patterns had been enough to thoroughly frighten her.

They all left to pack afterwards. Bracken had apparently brought a couple adamant knives and his second and first horns with him. Bracken claimed that the knives were just in case they needed to "toss and run". According to him, his first and second horns were much more effective weapons, and he preferred his second horn.

Seth would, of course, be using Vasilis, but he also brought a crossbow and some throwing knives. Kendra brought the same, only she also had the armor Seth had given her. Warren had a couple swords, and Vanessa brought a sword and her blow-darts. The darts had been dipped in adamant, as had all of the arrows. Kendra thought they seemed relatively prepared, but you never knew with the magical world.

She went to sleep that night feeling wary, but mostly at peace.

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A/N---I hope you all enjoyed reading this! Don't expect every chapter to be this long. Next up is Seth. Please review!


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